Big 5G Event: May 6-8, 2019 – Denver, CO

5G is on the way and cellular operators are going to have to come to terms with the splintering of system infrastructure. 5G virtualizes layers top-to-bottom and embeds slicing as a core function of the network. A huge variety of wireless and wired access technologies’ traffic will be terminated in the 5G convergence. Dedicated appliances, that are hard to upgrade, are being replaced with vCPE. These Edge Computing white-boxes can be easily upgraded through centralized control and Network Function Virtualization (NFV) applications.

5G promises huge bandwidth, sliceability, ultra-low latency and massive IoT scale. The shift to edge computing from centralized nodes further increases throughput and reduces latency. However, there is a big new threat coming with 5G: many system devices will not be locked in secure operator facilities but be out in the open where they are susceptible to tampering or replacement with a compromised device.

Blockchain innovations offer a solution to this problem. If a lite blockchain mesh can be run among edge nodes then they can truly authenticate each other and secure the infrastructure. With a decentralized blockchain, identities can be protected, through the use of asymmetric cryptography and hashing algorithms, while security is maintained. Furthermore, a blockchain can settle transactions (even in the non-financial sense, e.g. turn on the light) and be used to settle smart contract disputes.

At Big 5G Event 2019, besides showing a range of Mobile Edge Computing and Network Communication white boxes for desktop and enterprise level applications, NEXCOM is also partnering with SmartAxiom to release the next generation of IoT management and security built on edge blockchains.